Monsanto Co. emphasized its continuing desire to acquire Syngenta AG, saying it is committed to divesting itself of its Swiss rival’s entire seed business to win regulatory approval for a merger.

Monsanto President Brett Begemann said that combining with Syngenta—the world’s largest pesticide seller—would enable Monsanto to get more seeds and pesticides to market faster, helping farmers raise more crops. “We’re seeing the coming together of chemistry and biology,” he said at an industry conference Wednesday.